After accepting unconditional apology, the Delhi High Court has discharged a man who was held guilty of criminal contempt of court for posting a video on social media defaming the judges and claiming that they were doing “illegal acts.”
A division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain accepted his unreserved apology and freed him from the contempt proceedings in Delhi.
The individual stated that he was willing to deposit Rs. 1 lakh for welfare purposes as compensation for the public time wasted in the contempt proceedings.
Thus, the court asked the individual to deposit Rs. 1 lakh with the Registry within two weeks.
It further stated that Rs. 25,000 each will be disbursed to the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, the Delhi Indigent & Disabled Lawyers Fund, Nirmal Chhaya for the Welfare of Children and Destitute Women, and the Bharat Ke Veer Fund.
While concluding the contempt proceedings, the bench stated that if the man acts similarly in the future, he will face severe consequences.
According to the man’s affidavit, his purpose when uploading the video to his social media account was not to discredit the Court or the judges, nor to scandalize them in order to diminish the Court’s majesty.
It was his case that he published the video solely to share his opinion on how the case was progressing.
The man in question was a respondent in a case filed against him involving a property in New Ashok Nagar.
The petitioner in the case claimed that by publishing the video in issue, the man knowingly interfered with judicial activity, impeded the administration of justice, scandalized, and undermined the Court’s authority.
The court stated that the video clearly defamed the judges, and that the individual claimed to be unveiling the “true fate” of the courts in front of “Janta ki Adaalat.”
The video was uploaded by the contemnor just to express his opinion regarding the way the case was going on, he added.
A contempt petition was moved by Sudha Prasad through advocate Gagan Gandhi